


Sway

by MalChilling



Series: Music Shuffle Fics [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Dance Instructor Andrew, M/M, Pre-Relationship, dance class
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27443422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalChilling/pseuds/MalChilling
Summary: In which Andrew is a dance instructor and Neil is an awful dancer.Inspired by Sway by Michael Buble
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: Music Shuffle Fics [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2004970
Comments: 8
Kudos: 93





	Sway

**Author's Note:**

> So in this story Andrew, Aaron and Nicky didn't join the foxes but Kevin still managed to get away thanks to Wymack and Neil protecting him. Lets pretend it worked, okay?

Neil felt absolutely ridiculous. Matt had somehow managed to convince him that a dance class would help loosen him up more, and that it would be better for his game. Matt had even signed himself up and dragged Dan into it too so Neil wouldn’t be by himself. 

That didn’t make this less embarrassing. 

So here he was, in shorts that had shrunk in the wash -he hadn’t realized until he had changed in the studio’s bathroom stall-, and a PSU T-shirt, the bright orange clashing with the pink terribly. The shorts weren’t originally pink, Matt wasn’t allowed to do laundry anymore, but throwing them out when they were practically new seemed like a waste. 

He shifts on his feet, the bounce of his new shoes settling him as he spots Dan’s bright neon crop top, and the top of Matt’s head. They wave him over, and he groans at the mirror wall. Now he’ll have a perfect view of his scars. 

At least he doesn’t have the tattoo on his cheek anymore. Just melted skin from a dash lighter. 

He feels cold under the fluorescent lighting, but knows that he’ll be running hot later. That's what all the water bottles in his bag were for. They hang out for a few minutes while they wait for the class to begin, the other few people in the class pay them no mind as they chat with their own friends. 

“Hello, everyone!” A tall, Latino boy yells enthusiastically from the front. He’s wearing an outfit that is pretty much composed of rainbows, and has his dark curls pulled into the tiniest ponytail at the top of his head. “I’m one of your instructors, Nicky. Welcome to the best dance class to ever grace this planet.” 

His remarks gain laughter from most of the students, but Neil feels like Nicky isn’t entirely kidding. 

“Your other talented instructor, Andrew, is right back there, why don’t you give us a wave, Andrew?” Nicky points to over to the back of the room, where a short blond with broad shoulders leans against the wall. He’s in all black, and wears armbands that cover most of his arms. He doesn’t wave.

Neil startles when he finds the blond’s eyes already on him, but refuses to look away. The blond- Andrew’s eyes narrow in challenge, so Neil narrows his eyes as well. They stare each other down while Nicky explains what their plan is for the class. Saying something about starting off easy because this was a beginner’s class. 

Matt claps him excitedly in the back, knocking him off balance and Andrew wins the game by default. Neil scowls before remembering Matt is like a puppy, and his feelings would be hurt if he thought Neil was mad at him. So Neil smiles before he’s manhandled into a line up. He almost feels like he’s about to get shot. 

“How about we stretch first, huh?” Nicky smiles, before turning on some sort of relaxing music and making them roll their heads around. Neil feels the comforting pull of his muscles before they relax, and touches his palm to the floor when they’re told to touch their toes. 

It's actually kind of fun. 

“Alright, we’re going to start off by practicing some movements individually, and then we’ll put them all together when we finally listen to the song.” Nicky says, and then goes over turns up the music. It’s not the song they’re going to dance to, Nicky had said that if they listened to the song over and over they’d end up going crazy so they were using an instrumental version that sounded similar. 

Nicky is the one who teaches them all the moves, but he can see Andrew going around fixing people’s movements. He doesn’t touch, instead directing people with a stick and sometimes swatting them when they take too long to understand what he wants them to do. 

Neil thinks he’s doing well. Aside from the awkwardness he feels when he has to move his hips. His very stiff, awkward hips that stutter whenever he has to move them. And sometimes he does get his legs confused with his arms. But he thinks that if he does stick with this class it will help him loosen up more. And it will help his game. 

Guess Matt was right after all. 

He winces as he rotates his hips again, and he thinks he hears something creak as he moves them again. 

“You’re stiff.” A deep voice that definitely belongs to a smoker says from behind him. It turns out to be Andrew, looking at him blankly. “Did you not stretch?” 

“Yes.” Neil defends, because at least he was good at that. “I’m just not a very good dancer.” 

“I can see that.” Andrew says, a quirk to his eyebrow. Neil rolls his eyes and turns away from the unhelpful advice, watching as Matt pushes Dan with his hip as he attempts a sway. At least he wasn’t the only one doing terribly. 

“Yes or no?” Andrew suddenly says. Neil blinks back at him clueless until he spots Andrew’s hands hovering over his hips. He spares a thought to the stick that Andrew had been using and wonders where it was now. He winces when realizes he was bad enough to warrant Andrew’s actual hands to help. 

“You can say no.” Andrew says. Neil looks up from his feet. 

“Yes.” 

Andrew nods before setting strong, large hands on Neil’s hips and adjusting him until the blond was satisfied. “I’m just going to rotate your hips until you’re not as stiff. Say no if you want to.” 

Want to. 

That was new. 

It was a bit awkward having Andrew’s surprisingly warm hands on his hips and having him manhandle him until his hips finally went with the flow. He pays attention to the rest of the dance movements Nicky is teaching, and catches his eye. Nicky, in turn, smirks.

It takes about two minutes for Neil to finally sway his hips in a way that satisfies Andrew, who unglues his hands from Neil’s body after a few seconds. Neil can’t help but smile when he finally does it by himself, moving his hips like Nicky had told him to. He looks up at Andrew, who rolls his eyes at his proud smile and walks away. 

“Alright, people, how about we do the actual song now, yeah?” Nicky cheers, waving imaginary pom-poms as the others cheer. The loud start of the song nearly makes Neil jump out of skin, but he recovers quickly when he hears Matt cheer and Dan shush him half-heartedly. 

_When marimba rhythms start to play_  
_Dance with me, make me sway_

  
He could feel Andrew’s eyes on him. 

  
_Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore_  
_Hold me close, sway me more_

  
He could feel his hands. 

  
_Like a flower bending in the breeze_  
_Bend with me, sway with ease_

  
Neil’s hands are above his head, something about elevating his heart rate, but he thinks his heart has been beating fast enough since he saw Andrew leaning against that wall. 

  
_When we dance you have a way with me_  
_Stay with me, sway with me_

  
He’s still wondering about why Andrew had decided not to hit him with his stick. 

  
He knows how that sounds. Too much time with Allison. 

  
_Other dancers may be on the floor_  
_Dear, but my eyes will see only you_

  
He’s never been attracted to anyone before. Never. Mostly because his mother had almost killed him the one time he had been kissed. 

  
_Only you have that magic technique_  
_When we sway I go weak_

  
So he didn’t swing. In any way. But- 

  
_I can hear the sounds of violins_  
_Long before it begins_  
_Make me thrill as only you know how_

  
Andrew was attractive. He asked before he touched, and he made it clear that Neil could say no whenever he wanted. 

  
_Sway me smooth, sway me now_  
_Other dancers may be on the floor_  
_Dear, but my eyes will see only you_

  
He hadn’t had the time for swinging even after his mother died. He hadn’t wanted to. He was busy after he had been recruited to the Foxes by Kevin, all their teammates. All of which were his family now. Well, maybe not John, Stacy, and Robbie. The three teammates who were just that; teammates. They worked well together, but they could be gone one day, and he would barely notice unless they had a game. John was a decent goalie, but Renee could easily take over. If only there wasn’t a specific number of players they needed to play.

  
_Only you have that magic technique_  
_When we sway I go weak_

  
He’s still thinking about Andrew’s hands. And his brown eyes. Brown eyes had never fit Neil, but on Andrew? They were about the warmest thing he'd ever seen, no matter the blank stare. He thinks he could stare at them forever.

  
_I can hear the sounds of violins_  
_Long before it begins_  
_Make me thrill as only you know how_  
_Sway me smooth, sway me now_

  
Neil thinks his thoughts are derailing, even though he is doing everything Nicky had told him to. Who knows, maybe dancing could be a new way to think when he was too tired for a run. Maybe he’d get that app Matt had told him about and find music he likes. 

  
_When marimba rhythms start to play_  
_Dance with me, make me sway_  
_Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore_  
_Hold me close, sway me more_  
_Like a flower bending in the breeze_  
_Bend with me, sway with ease_

  
Maybe he could ask Andrew for song recommendations. 

  
_When we dance you have a way with me_  
_Stay with me, sway with me_  
_When marimba rhythms start to play_  
_Hold me close, make me sway_

  
Maybe he could ask Andrew how he ended up as a dance instructor. Was it permanent? Or was he doing this and something else? 

  
_Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore_  
_Hold me close, sway me more_  
_Like a flower bending in the breeze_

  
He could still feel Andrew’s eyes, even as the blond walked around smacking people with what Neil now realized was a ruler. Why did Andrew have a ruler at a dance studio? Maybe he liked math, Neil liked math.   
  
_Bend with me, sway with ease_  
_When we dance you have a way with me_  
_Stay with me, sway with me_

The song ends, and Nicky whoops as he cheers them on. Matt and Dan smile over at him as they pant, apparently even Class I NCAA Exy players can barely handle this dance class, as beginner as it was. 

“Great job class! You did so well!” Nicky lies. “I’ll see you guys next Friday, alright?” 

People dispersed, picking up their things from whatever corner or cubby they had stuffed them in and Neil made his way over to the bottom cubby where his bag was. Neil shrugged on his loose grey hoodie that used to belong to Matt, but not anymore, the sweat cooling his skin, the faded fox paw comforting him. He smells like strawberries and cream from the hair products and deodorant Allison had given him as a gift. 

At least he wouldn’t stink. 

He waits at the lobby for Dan and Matt, they were busy checking out the new kick boxing class the small studio also offered. He kicked an imaginary rock as he studied the tiled floors, tugging at the hem of his shorts so it wouldn’t look like he wasn’t wearing any pants. 

“Nice shorts.” Andrew says as he comes near. Neil rolls his eyes before he narrows them defensively. 

“Shut up.” Neil grumbles. Andrew stands next to him and leans against the wall. 

They stand there in silence for a few minutes before Andrew breaks the silence by handing him a piece of paper. 

“What's this?” 

“My phone number.” 

Neil blinks cluelessly for a few seconds and Andrew rolls his eyes. 

“You don’t have to use it. You’re pretty, and seem interesting, this is in case you do want to.” Andrew says, and Neil blinks again, a little gape in his mouth. Andrew doesn't quite shift on his feet, but there’s a little movement in his mouth and eyebrow that gives away his small discomfort. 

“You think I’m… pretty?” Neil asks

“You’re a very attractive person, yes.” Andrew nods, and Neil is surprised he doesn’t roll his eyes again. 

“Thank you.” Neil says, awkwardly pocketing the piece of paper into his hoodie pocket. 

“You’re welcome.” Andrew does roll his eyes this time. Neil shifts on his feet again before nodding again. 

“So, you’re a dance instructor.” Neil states obviously. 

“Yes, part time while I go to school.” Andrew nods

“What school do you go to?” 

“Palmetto.” 

“Me too. How come I haven't seen you around?” Neil thinks back to all the people he can remember seeing around, searching for Andrew’s face but he’s never really noticed anyone unless they looked like they wanted to kill him. 

“I study criminology.” Andrew says and Neil nods in understanding. 

“I’m a maths major so maybe that's why.” Neil says and Andrew wrinkles his nose at the mention of math. 

“So do you hit on all your students? That's gotta be awkward when it's over.” Neil says. Andrew raises a brow.

“You’re the first one.” 

“Oh.” Neil blushes. 

“Oh.” Andrew repeats, something in the way he says it and the look in his eyes making Neil’s stomach flutter and flip itself up and down and inside and out. 

“I’ll text you.” Neil finally says. 

“Good.”

Later on that night he ignores Matt’s advice about the ‘three day waiting period’ and texts Andrew. 

_Hey, this is neil. From the dance class? I was wondering if you wanted to grab lunch tomorrow._

And then half an hour later:

_Okay, it's a date._

**Author's Note:**

> yeahhhhh
> 
> so this happened because I'm writing fics by putting my spotify (which I've had since like middle school, so its gonna get weird) on shuffle and I'm being very strict about writing it no matter what the song is.


End file.
